Turkey warns missile system from Russia "WILL be used" as tensions with Donald Trump SOAR

AS TENSIONS between Turkey and the US soar, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan released a strong statement on Tuesday in which he claimed Turkey will put to use the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems once they are delivered from Russia, adding its main objective was to reduce Ankara’s dependency on US arms supplies.

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Mr Erdogan's remarks come after months of contention between Turkey and Nato allies, in particular the US, who see the purchase of a Russian-built missile system as a threat to NATO countries’ defence interoperability.

The Turkish leader said: “We will not just buy the S-400s and place them in a storehouse.

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“In the meantime, Russia has responded to the Turkish request for the S-400 with a pretty alluring offer.

“They said they would even get into a joint production. And with respect to loans, they have offered us pretty good loan terms.”

The US Congress has currently taken up the S-400 case and the US Senate is readying to vote next week on a bill that calls for sanctions for the Russian air missile purchase.

A US Congress claims the sale of the new generation F-35 jets to Turkey is blocked (Image: Getty)

The bill also claims the sale and transfer of the new generation F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, which are expected to arrive in Turkey on June 21, is blocked until congressional committees prepare a plan on removing the country from the F-35 co-production programme.

In reaction to the US move, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy claimed the bill was “against the spirit of our alliance with the US” and that Ankara would respond if Washington suspended delivery of the fighter jets.

Mr Aksoy noted: “This is not a program managed solely by the US It is a multinational program and we expect everybody to fulfil their obligation."

President Erdogan also responded to the talk around blocking the delivery of the F-35 jets, saying the United States would be obliged to deliver the jets since Turkey had already paid $800 million for them.